Ghana is set to be the first country in the West Africa sub-region to have the Right to Information (RTI) Law as government holds final consultations with civil society, Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, said in Accra on Friday. “The most critical of the outstanding issues are the appointment of the Independent Regulator, the numerous exemption clauses, inclusion of the Chieftaincy institution and private bodies, and the fee regime,” she said at a ministerial meet-the-press encounter. “These are not major issues that should hinder us further in our quest to pass the law. We have made some progress within the reasonable time; it will be presented to Cabinet,” she added. The encounter involving the Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning, Education, Energy, Trade and Industry, Justice and Attorney-General and Environment, Science and Technology was facilitated by the Ministry of Information to offer the sector Ministers the opportunity to account for the 100 days stewardship of the Mills Administration. Mrs Mould-Iddrisu, who gave an account of the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General, said government was committed to passing the RTI Bill, but noted that the appointment of the Independent Regulator would be expensive to operate under the current economic austerity regime. She suggested that the law should operate under the Ministry of Justice for an initial two years before the appointment of the independent regulator. Mrs Mould-Iddrisu stressed: “We should all know the implication of what we are getting ourselves into, including you the media, especially those working with public institutions.” She said since assuming office, the ministry had also initiated measures to review the Whistleblower’s Act to plug loopholes identified in it, and measures to revamp the Serious Fraud Office. Mrs Mould-Iddrisu reaffirmed government’s commitment to separate the Ministry of Justice from the Attorney General and stated that she had started dialoguing with legal experts on the issue. Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, Minister of Education, disclosed that the government had increased the Capitation Grant from GH¢3.00 per child per year to GH¢4.50 per child per year. On the provision of school uniforms for pupils, the Minister said the exercise would start from the next academic year as the necessary groundwork – tender procedure, production of the uniforms, distribution and other administrative operations – are on-going. He said the proposed Forum on Education Reform would be held before the Education Sector Review meeting in June and assured the public of broad-based consultation on the reforms. The Ministerial Meet-the-Press encounter was chaired by Mr Harruna Iddrisu, Minister of Communication, and was attended by Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr Alex Segbefia, Ministers of State, and other government officials. Source: GNA